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Gender and Critical Literacy
Why is Gender an important issue in Critical Literacy? Gender stereotypes and the western ideal of what makes someone a specific gender impacts on a child's self-image, as well as their confidence to take part in certain activities. Studies have found that the western ideal of masculinity has impacted on young boys' literacy levels, as literacy is seen as a 'feminine' activity. Young girls are also affected by gender stereotypes, with studies showing their confidence in areas such as math and science vanishing when informed that their abilities will be tested based on their gender. At the Little Flyers Centre, we aim to provide every child with a safe, secure environment where their abilities will not be restricted based on their gender. What can I do? As a parent, you are the most important person in a child's life, and most likely will hold the most influence on the shaping of their identity. Although many popular culture materials reinforce gender stereotypes, do not feel scared of using these with your children. Discuss television shows and magazines with them, and ask them how they feel about how girls/boys are portrayed. Questions that could be asked are: * Do you think boys/girls are really like that? * Do you like the same things as those boys/girls? * Why do you think they show them that way? * Are they trying to make you feel a certain way about something? This will help the children to view popular culture in a more critical light, and realise that an individual's abilities are not specific to one gender. For more strategies on how to develop children's critical abilities, check out Strategies for Parents At our centre... At our centre, we incorporate gender and critical literacy through: *using blocks and construction in the home corner *using items in the arts area that appeal to the boys in the classroom *discussions with children are held at least twice a week regarding what they have seen in popular media and how it affects them *once a week, children are encouraged to write one of their favourite stories, with the genders of the characters changed *cencouraging children to act out these stories in a play, helping their ablity to consider multiple viewpoints *teachers will incorporate children's concerns about issues regarding gender stereotypes into the curriculum wherever appropriate *books that challenge gender stereotypes will be present in the book corner, as well as read to the children during book time *Once a week, our class meets to discuss any issues they may have regarding gender, culture and popular culture ideals they have seen over the week For information on how to help our centre incorporate critical literacy, check out How to help Some interesting sites These sites can provide some more information regarding critical literacy and gender: The Gender Spectrum Strategies for parents and a child's gender identity Mermaids, a charity for children suffering from gender identity issues The APA's Sexuality Definitions For more resources on critical literacy, check out Additional Resources Category:Childhood Category:Children Category:Gender Category:Boys Category:Girls Category:Early childhood Category:Primary education Category:Stereotypes Category:Sexuality Category:Sex